Underground Captive (36 page)

    
             
"Mary, I can manage here.  But I would like something special for breakfast.  Would hot cakes and honey be too much to ask for?"

    
             
"Oh nay, missy.  It dinna be tae much.  But I canna leave ye alone.  Master Jared wants me tae stay wi' ye until ye're ready tae go down."

    
             
"Does he think I will try to escape again?" Nicki snapped.  "He's been gone two whole days and I'm still here."

    
             
"I dinna ken what Master Jared be thinking, lassie.  I only ken what 'e be saying."

    
             
Nicki drew in a resigned breath.  "Very well, Mary," she said, standing.  "Just give me a minute."

       
             
Delaying as long as she could, the minute Nicki asked for stretched into a full hour.
             
Mary led her to the parlor, where Jared sat in a less than cordial mood.  He glared at her when she entered the room.

    
             
"
Bon matin
,
Monsieur
Fleming," Nicki said coolly, tossing her hair back in a defiant gesture.

    
             
"Good
day
,
mademoiselle
," Jared snapped, unable to hide his annoyance.  "'Twould still have been morning had ye come down when ye were summoned."

    
             
"My mistake,
monsieur
.  I thought my presence was
requested
not
demanded
," Nicki retorted, more irritated by his harsh tone.  "Besides, I don't respond well to summons."

    
             
Jared started to respond to Nicki's flippancy but he stopped.  She stood facing him with such defiance.  Her hair was the way he liked it, cascading down her back. Her lavender and white day dress had a square neckline and puffed sleeves.  Tiny pearl buttons fastened the tight fit
ting bodice.  She had the absolute minimum amount of petticoats on, and her skirt flowed gently over her slim hips, accentuating her tiny waist.

    
             
His heart thundered.  "Nay, Nicki," he said softly.  "
My
mistake.  Ye're right, of course.  I only summon my servants or my horses.  Never a guest.  Even though I can't let ye leave just yet, I want ye to consider yerself a guest in my home."

             
Nicki released a deprecating laugh.  Walking to the window, she looked out,

then asked, "Are you that deluded,
monsieur
, or do you think I am?"

             
Jared's laugh was just as deprecating as her own and he ignored the strain in

her voice.  "I didn't get this far in life by being deluded, Nicollette.  And I certainly

know ye're not.  Ye're too smart for that.  Which means ye're smart enough to know

that a prisoner is treated differently from a guest.  I was merely according ye the

hand of friendship.  Ye may be here for some time so ye might as well make the

best of it.  The deci
sion is yers alone." His irritation made the words sound all the

more harsh.

    
             
Nicki walked to the fireplace and held her hands above the flames, then rubbed them together, feeling the warmth course through them.  Did he really expect her to make the best of being held captive?  She turned and faced him.  The tender longing on his face knotted her stomach and seared her senses with anguish.  Their gazes met and melded.  She wanted to dissolve into his arms.

    
             
He had a faint smell of...of...outdoors.  Of hay.  Fresh, clean hay.  And some kind of leather.  Saddle leather.   Of course.  It was already mid-morning.  He had probably been out running his horses earlier.  Her glance roamed to an errant lock  of hair, falling on his forehead.  It took all her willpower to keep from running her fingers through it and brushing it back in place.  She forgot her anger and stared at him, his nearness comforting her.

    
             
Stepping closer to her, Jared drew in a long breath.  "Ye're beautiful.  Incredibly so," he said in a low murmur. Nicki's eyes, now a deep shade of blue, seemed to change to the incredible amethyst color that had mesmerized Jared from  the first moment he looked into them.

             
He gathered her into his embrace and teased her lips with a feather kiss.

    
             
"You mustn't," Nicki whispered feebly.  "You're my enemy."  Held in a vise, she gently pushed against his chest, strangely hopeful of his embrace.

    
             
Pressing her closer, Jared felt the pressure of her soft, round breasts.  "I know," he said, kissing her eyes.  "If ye weren't such a stubborn, opinionated little vixen, we wouldn't be enemies."  He nibbled at her lips.

    
             
"But you're a blackguard,
monsieur
, and a traitor to people who trust you.  How could we not be enemies?" Nicki asked softly, slipping her arms around Jared's neck.  She wanted him to kiss her.  She wanted more of what she was feeling.  Her heart ham
mered erratically inside her chest.

    
             
"See?  More of yer misguided opinions."  Jared chuckled, laving his tongue along the ivory softness of her slender throat.  His mouth explored further, kissing the creamy mounds of her breasts, his hand caressing them, teasing a hardened nipple through her dress material with his fingertip.  With his other hand, he embraced her around her tiny waist, holding her snugly against him.

             
Jared retraced his path along her neck back to her mouth.

    
             
Nicki threw her head back, waves of sensations flow
ing through her body.  The expanded muscle between his thighs, hard and sensuous against her body, filled her with want.  She raked her hands through his thick hair as his tongue explored the inside of her mouth.  The feel of his mouth against her own caused a tightening in the pit of her belly.  It spiraled down, heating her loins.  Liquid fire settled between her thighs.

    
             
Jared's hands moved possessively to her hips, pressing her body close to the burgeoning swell in his breeches and she drew in a sigh.  When he nibbled at the tip of her tongue, she wanted to scream out in pleasure.

    
             
"Why do ye have to be so damned alluring?" he asked, wanting to devour her.  His hands massaged and explored the hollow of her back.

    
             
Nicki fitted her body to his, trembling in his embrace.  Her body was ready for more, begging his for more of the pleasure she wasn't yet ready to abandon, instinctively knowing there was more to be had from Jared's experienced touch.  She seemed to be floating, soaring on wings.  She buried her head in the wide ex
panse of his chest.

    
             
He kissed the top of her head, running his hand through the silken luxury of her hair, holding her tightly, his loins hot and demanding.  He knew he could possess her right then if he chose to.  He ached to sink his maleness deep within the warmth of her sheath.  There, buried inside her, he could find the peace and fulfillment he sought.

             
Fulfillment of the desire that only Nicki could quell.

             
Peace to his weary heart and tortured mind.

             
Peace that only Nicki could give him.

    
             
But that peace was never to bear itself, for someone had to be rational.  It had to be him.  He still held too many secrets--one deadly.  He was going to kill her brother, a brother that she loved as much as life it
self.

             
He couldn't expect her to overlook that kind of deception.

             
Nay, he couldn't possess her.  He was in love with her, but he could never

possess her.  Not ever.

    
             
Even if he convinced her to understand his relentless need to avenge Patricia's death, he knew if he killed Ricard, Nicki would never forgive him.  She had made Jared aware of her feelings for Ricard long ago.  She risked her life to prove that love.  Her love for her brother was matched only by her love for her father.

             
Unrelenting pain sliced through Jared.  He wanted her to love
him
half as much as she loved Ricard and Charles.  If he was ever envious of the Duplantier men for anything, it was for want of Nicki's love.

    
             
God's mercy, how he wanted her!  But he wanted her to come to him, accepting him for what he was--secrets and all.  However, unless he told her otherwise, there would always be secrets between them.  And he couldn't tell her just yet.  If ever.  Being held captive was enough for her to contend with at one time.  But God how he wanted her.  He mustered every bit of willpower he possessed.

    
             
He pushed her a little apart from him and looked deep into her eyes.  "This isn't the time," he said huskily.

    
             
Nicki's eyes widened in surprise and her body stiffened.  “The time for what?" she asked, angry and humiliated, not sure her legs would support her weight.  She pushed him away from her and faced him.  Assuming he was feeling what she was feeling, she didn't expect rejection.  Her eyes narrowed and she armored herself with indignation.  "Were you expecting something more,
monsieur
?  Are all men as mindlessly lustful as you?  Or do you think all women are like that harlot you've bedded down these past few nights?"  Eyes stinging with tears she wouldn't let fall, Nicki vowed to herself then and there she would never allow herself to fall into his tender, deceiving trap again.  He had his....whatever she was!

    
             
"So! Ye know about that?" Jared asked evenly, his burning eyes still boring into hers.  "I don't need two guesses to know who told ye!"  He couldn't bear to see her so distressed.  The tears brightening her eyes didn't make him feel any better, although her pride was stubbornly refusing to let those tears fall.

    
             
He didn't want there to be anymore enmity than there already was between him and Nicki.  If Mary had spoke of Judith, 'twas more than possible he could have given her a convincing reason why they couldn't make love.  One she could have accepted without her pride being wounded.  They could have possibly also made a start in rebuilding their friendship.  Now, they were right where they started.  He made a mental note to talk to Mary Douglas.

    
             
"Are ye hungry, Nicki?  I'm sure the kitchen staff has prepared a noon meal."  He tried to sound as gentle as possible, as he changed the subject.

    
             
"I don't need you to tell me when to eat!" Nicki snapped, swiping away a

renegade tear from her cheek, lifting her chin ar
rogantly.

    
             
"Suit yerself."  Jared walked toward the parlor door, instead of taking her into his arms and soothing her as he wanted to.  "If ye care to join me, I'll be in the dining salon." As an enticing after
thought he added, "I'd be delighted to have yer company."  He quietly opened the door and walked out.

    
             
Nicki watched his retreating back and fought to control her tears.  She would not cry.  However, the ache in her heart was so great she was sure she would crumple onto the floor in a heap of self-pity, praying for a swift end to her misery.

    
             
She ached for her father and for her brother.  She missed them dearly.   Not caring any more that her father had married Antoinette, she wanted to hear his laughter and to see the love that he always had in his eyes for her. 
             

             
She needed Ricard to throw his arms around her and tell her that everything was going to be all right.  She needed his calm
ing influence and the protective love that he always had for her.  But she knew he couldn't protect her from her emotions.  He could calm her, but in that sense he couldn't protect her.

    
             
The ache that she had for Jared was staggering.  She wanted to soothe the pain that she saw in the depths of his eyes.  But he didn't want or need her to do that.  He had Judith.  And he had made Nicki his prisoner.